Coal breaking and dislodging apparatus



Dec. 31, 1935. C, P BALDWIN COAL BREAKING AND DISLODGING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 30. 1934 INVEN TOR. Paldwz'n ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 31, 1935 UNITED V`STATES i PATENT OFFICE N COAL BREAKING AND DISLODGIN APPARATUS Clyde P. Baldwin, Claremont, N. H., assignor to Sullivan Machinery Company, a corporation of Massachusetts Application November 30, 1934, Serial No. 755,305

15 Claims.

This invention relates to coal breaking and dislodging apparatus, and more particularly pertains to breaking and dislodging apparatus especially designed for insertion in a narrow slot cut in a coal vein for breaking and dislodging the coal.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved material breaking and dislodging ap- Another object is to provide an imextremely fiat, compact design especially designed for insertion in a narrow slot cut in a coal vein for breaking and dislodging the coal. A

l further object is to provide an Vimproved breakcing and dislodging apparatus in the form of a collapsible housing of an extremely compact design and having arranged therein the expanding mechanism for said housing. Yet another object is to provide an improved breaking and disaction is attained. Still anotherV object is to. 25"

lodging apparatus of an extremely at, compact design having hydraulically operated expanding means of the multi-wedge type whereby an extremely powerful breaking and'dislodging provide an improved expansible breaking and dislodging apparatus having embodied therein hydraulically operated expanding means for effecting expansion of the apparatus to break and vdislodge the coal and for returning the 'ex- 30' panding apparatus into `its collapsed position after the coal has been broken and dislodged, thereby enabling placing of the apparatus in another slot in the coal. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will, however, hereinafter more fully appear as the description proceeds. i

In the accompanying drawing there is shown for purposes of illustration one form which the invention may assume in practice.

In this drawing, Fig. 1 is a plan view, with parts shown in horizontal section, of the illustrative form of the improved breaking and dislodging apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the appara- `tus shown in Fig; 1. v

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view taken von line- Fig 'l is a detailsectional view taken on line 'I-l of Fig. 1.

In this illustrative embodiment of the invention the improved breaking and dislodging apparatus generally designated I is of an extremely iiat, compact design, especially designed for insertion in a relatively narrow slot cut in a coal vein, for breaking and dislodging the coal. The coal or other material to be dislodged is suitably slotted as by a kerf cutting apparatus, and the breaking and dislodging apparatus is inserted in this narrow slot and then operated to break and dislodge the coal. The improved breaking and dislodging apparatus is designed for use in various manners in accordance with ythe various methods of mining, such as in slots cut in the coal at the roof as well as at the floor level, in vertical shear slots, and in channel slots cut from the surface of the coal as in the strip pit method of mining. The breaking and dislodging apparatus, in accordance with the present invention, is in the form of an expansible breaking device of extremely at structure and having embodied therein hydraulically operated expanding means of the multi-wedge type whereby an extremely powerful breaking and dislodging force may be imparted to the coal to break and dislodge the latter. This expansible breaking device comprises telescopically arranged pressure members 2 and 3 in the form of cooperating plungers having relatively wide, at, material engaging surfaces 4 and5. These plunger-like members 2 and 3 are, in this instance, of rectangular box-like shape, one slightly larger than the other so that the smaller may telescope within the larger. The member 3 has upstanding brackets slotted at 6 with which pins 'I carried within projections integral with the member 2 cooperate for limiting relative movement of the members 2 and 3, thereby to preclude separation of the parts. The members 2 and 3 cooperate to form a housing for the expanding mechanism arranged therein, and the latter herein comprises a cylinder 8 arranged with its axis extending longitudinally of the apparatus at right angles to the direction of movement of the plungers. The cylinder is herein preferably formed integral with the plunger-like member 3 and contains a reciprocable piston 9 having oppositely extending piston rods I and Il projecting through the packed heads I2 and I3 of the cylinder. The piston rod Ill is xed at IA to a wedge block I guided for rectilinear movement and having an inclined upper surface I6 engaging an inclined inner surface I1 on the plunger-like member 2. This block has longitudinal guideways I8 engaging longitudinal guides I 9 formed integral with the members 2 and 3. The other piston rod II is fixed at 20 to a wedge block 2l guided for rectilinear movement and having an inclined upper surface 22 engaging an inclined inner surface 23, similar to the inclined surface I'I and likewise formed integral with the member 2. As in the case of the wedge block I5, the wedge block ZI is provided with longitudinal guideways 24 engaging longitudinal guides 25 integral with the members 2 and 3. It will thus be seen that the wedge blocks I5 and 2l cooperate to form a multi-wedge mechanism for expanding the plunger-like members 2 and 3. Hydraulic pressure from any suitable source of supply may be conducted to the ends of the cylinder 8 through suitable pipe connections 2E and 2'I under the control of any suitable form of control means. These pipe connections are secured within the side wall of the member 3 and project out through suitable vertical slots 28 formed in the wall of the member 2. For urging the members 2 and 3 toward their collapsed position, there is provided a plurality of bolts 3G projecting within chambers 3| formed in the member 2 and having interposed between the head 32 of each bolt and the inner wall of the chamber 3| and encircling the bolt, a coil spring 33.

When the improved breaking and dislodging apparatus is inserted in a slot in the coal vein, and it is desired to break and dislodge the coal, the operator, by suitable manipulation of the control means, the latter being located at a suitable remote point, effects a supply of hydraulic pressure through pipe 25 to the cylinder 8, the

- pressure acting on the piston 9 to move the lat- Vtus within the coal slot.

ter toward the left, as viewed in Fig. 3. As a result, the wedge blocks I5, 2l move rectilinearly along their guideways to cause the inclined surfaces thereon to act on the inclined surfaces Il and 23 on the member 2 with a powerful wedging action, thereby to expand the members 2 and 3. When the pipe 2 is connected to a source of hydraulic pressure and the pipe connection 25 is vented, the piston 3 is moved toward the right as viewed in Fig. 3 to effect release of the wedge blocks I5 and 2|, thereby to effect collapse of the members 2 and 3. The coil springs of bolts 3i) and 33 urge the members 2 and 3 towards their innermost collapsed position. The co-cperating flanges or sidewalls of the members 2 and 3 form a complete housing for the expanding mechanism in any expanded position thereof, thereby precluding entry of dirt or other foreign substances to the internal mechanism, the apparatus being entirely self-contained and insertable as a unit in the slot cut in the coal.

If desired, the pipe connections 26, 2'1 may bev so arranged as to form a handle-like element for facilitating positioning of the breaking appara- These and other uses and advantages of the improved coal breaking and dislodging apparatus will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art.

While I have in this application specifically described one form which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of illustration, and that the invention may be modified and embodied in Various other forms without departing from its spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An expansible breaking and dislodging apparatus adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot cut in the material to be broken comprising fiat, telescopically arranged expansible members, and hydraulically operated wedge means arranged within and housed completely by said members 5 for expanding the latter, said wedge means being housed completely by said expansible members in all positions of the latter, and said expanding means comprising a cylinder arranged within said membersand supported on one of the 10 latter, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, and wedge elements actuated by said piston.

2. An expansible breaking and dislodging apparatus adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot cut in the material to be broken comprising fiat, telescopically arranged expansible members, and hydraulically operated wedge means arranged within and housed completely by said members for expanding the latter, said expanding means comprising a cylinder arranged within said members and supported on one of the latter, a piston reciprocable in said cylinder, wedge elements actuated by said piston, and means for supplying from an extraneous source hydraulic pressure tc either end of said cylinder to effect movement of said piston in either direction.

3. An expansible breaking and dislodging apparatus adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot cut in the material to be broken comprising telescopically arranged members having relatively wide material engaging surfaces, and hydraulically operated expanding means including a hydraulic motor and arranged entirely within said members, said members cooperating to form a complete housing for said expanding means in all expanded positions thereof.

4. An expansible breaker comprising a flat frame adapted to be inserted into a plane slot in a mine vein, a. flat plunger fitting in said frame and movable relatively thereto transversely there- D of, and means comprising hydraulically operated wedge mechanism in position on said frame for moving said plunger relatively to said frame and embodying a hydraulic motor arranged entirely within said frame and supported by the latter for operating said wedge mechanism.

5. An expansible breaker .adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot in a mine vein comprising telescopically arranged plunger-like members arranged in spaced relation having relatively wide material engaging surfaces, and means comprising hydraulically operated wedge mechanism arranged between said plungers to operate said plungers by spreading the same apart to exert pressure on opposite walls of the slot .and embodying a hydraulic motor arranged entirely Within the space between said plunger-like members.

6. An expansible breaker adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot in a mine vein comprising telescopically arranged plunger-like members having relatively wide material engaging surfaces, and means comprising hydraulically operated wedge mechanism arranged between said plungers to operate said plungers by spreading the same apart to exert pressure on opposite walls of the slot, said wedge mechanism comprising a plurality of rectilinearly movable wedge blocks guided on one member and engaging inclined surfaces on the other member, and a motor arranged entirely within said members and supported by one of the latter comprising a cylinder and a piston reciprocable in said cylinder and connected to said wedge blocks.

'7. A nat breaker adapted to be inserted in a narrow vslot in the mine vein and comprising tele- CTI scopically arranged frames having relatively wide material engaging surfaces and cooperating to form a sealed internal chamber in all positions of said frames, a motor housed entirely within said sealed chamber comprising a cylinder secured to one frame and a plunger reciprocable in said cylinder, anda wedge operated by said plunger and having an inclined surface engaging an inclined surface on said other frame.

8. A breaker adapted to be inserted in a narrow slot in a mine vein comprising relatively movable frames arranged in spaced relation and each having a relatively wide material engaging surface, a' power operated plunger arranged in the space between and movable relative to said frames, and a wedge device actuated by said plunger for forcing said members apart.

9. A breaker comprising relatively movable pressure exerting plungers arranged in spaced relation each having a relatively Wide material engaging surface, said plungers being of greater width than their thickness to adapt the breaker to enter a comparatively narrow slot in a mine vein, a cylinder arranged in the space between said plungers with its axis at right angles to the direction of relative movement of said plungers, a piston reciprocable in said cylinders, .and wedge means operated by said piston for expanding said plungers.

l0. A flat breaker adapted to be inserted into a slot in a mine vein comprising a pair of oppositely moving plungers, and means comprising rectilinearly movable wedge mechanism for operating both of said `plungers simultaneously by moving both of them outwardly with respect to one another in opposite directions against the walls of the slot to exert sulicient pressure thereon to break the material from the mine vein, said wedge mechanism embodying spaced wedge elements and a motor arranged between said elements for operating the latter.

11. A breaker adapted to be inserted in the narrow slot in a mine vein and comprising slotwall engaging devices, a rectilinear movable device for expanding the breaker by spreading apart said slot-wall engaging devices to a predetermined extent, spring means for automatically contracting the breaker by moving said slot-wall engaging devices toward each other after having been spread apart to said predetermined extent, and hydraulic mechanism arranged between said slot-wall engaging devices for operating said rectilinearly movable expanding device.

member, and expanding mechanism arranged within said members for spreading the same apart, said membersconstituting a complete housing for said expanding means in all positions of said members with respect to one another, said expanding means including a multi-wedge expanding device and a motor arranged between the wedges of the latter for actuating said device.

14. A material breaking and dislodging apparatus comprising telescopically arranged members of box-like rectangular shape, one member having flanges fitting within ilanges of the other member, expanding mechanism arranged Within said members for spreading the same apart, said members constituting a complete housing for said expanding means in all positions of said members with respect to one another, said expanding means including a multi-wedge expanding device, and hydraulically operated means arranged between the wedges of the latter for actuating said multiif.

wedge device.

15. A material breaking and dislodging apparatus comprising telescopically arranged members of box-like rectangular shape, one member having anges fitting within flanges of the other member, expanding mechanism arranged within said members for spreading the same apart, said members constituting a complete housing for said expanding means in all positions of said members with respect to one another, said expanding means including a multi-wedge expanding device, and hydraulically operatedmeans for actuating said multi-wedge device comprising a cylinder arranged within said members between the wedges of said device, and a piston reciprocable in said cylinder and connected to the wedges of said multi-wedge device.

CLYDE P. BALDWIN. 

